HubNuggets How-To, Q & A

This hub is looooong overdue! I mentioned to Ryan Hupfer that I was going to do something like this about two months ago but life got in the way, as it does sometimes.

Those of us on the HubNuggets team get emails and forum questions every week from Hubbers wanting to know, first of all, what a HubNugget is and secondly, how to make a hub eligible for the HubNuggets contest. Those are the types of questions that we shall endeavour to answer here.

Once you've checked through the information in this hub and applied it to your own work, you'll have top HubNugget material and be an inspiration for newbie Hubbers who come after you.

Besides, everybody wants their hub to be a HubNugget!

Update: Sorry but HubPages has removed the newsletter archives from back that far. Too bad. You can view more current newsletters here: HubPages Newsletter Archive

These old newsletters include early days HubNuggets.

HubPages Newsletter 2 (the first one with HubNuggets, Oct. 2006)

HubPages Newsletter 15 (Jan.17, 2007)

HubPages Newsletter 23 (March 14, 2007)

You Wannabe a HubNugget Wannabe?

The first step to fulfilling your dream of HubNugget stardom is to make the HubNuggets Wannabe list. "Great!" I can hear you saying that as you rub your hands together, eager to get started. It will probably help for you to know what a Wannabe is.

A HubNugget Wannabe is a great hub authored by a new hubber and chosen by the team for inclusion in the week's HubNugget contest. Although the list of new hubber hubs is vast, the team must narrow the number of choices to ten. Those ten finalists are showcased in the weekly HubNuggets hub, whereupon open voting begins via a poll capsule.

I see this question posted in the comment sections and forum quite a bit. Writers who are new to HubPages can't quite figure out what we're all so excited about.

When the poll tally is taken at the end of a HubNugget week, the five hubs with the highest number of votes are officially designated as HubNuggets.

The rewards for being a HubNugget Wannabe is lots of new readers, fans and traffic because people have been introduced to you and your work via the HubNuggets hub. Yay!

HubNuggets can really propel a newbie's hubbing aspirations. Here's what you get if your hub is one of the top five that are declared HubNuggets:

• increased traffic
• increased readership
• increased fan base
• a letter of congratulations from a HubNuggets team member
• your profile, link and winning hub feed prominently displayed in the weekly newsletter, which is emailed to approximately 50,000 hubbers
• your winning hub title posted in the HubNugget forum thread

As you can see, regardless of whether you are a HubNugget Wannabe or a HubNugget, it's all good! Don't forget that increased traffic = increased ad revenue potential, too.

Wow! Sheer Hubber Heaven!

You must have joined HubPages within the last 60 days.  You must also have an author score of 75 or higher.

You're going to want to make sure that you write at least one quality hub every week!  In order to be considered for HubNuggets, your hub must have been published in the preceeding seven days and have a hub score of 55 or more. 

I'm glad you asked. When putting together your hubs, incorporate the following elements:

• well written, engaging content that goes into detail about your topic
• ensure that you have enough content in your hub - 800 or more words is a good start
  
• well chosen topics - topics that are evergreen and searched for are perfect
• relevant photos for sure, videos are good, too
• a final edit of your hub before publishing to remove typos and spelling errors and to make certain that you have arranged the most attractive layout possible

The goal is to present your highest quality work in the most attractive way. Teach people something or entertain them and they will return to read more of your hubs. You will essentially brand yourself as a readable author and develop a loyal following. That will continue to build over time if you maintain a high quality standard in your hubs.

Yes, you can.  We do look at the nominations that we receive, however we cannot promise or guarantee that any of the hubs recommended to us will be chosen as a HubNugget Wannabe.  Sorry folks, but I'm sure you understand.

We have a designated HubNuggets team.

Ryan Hupfer is a HubPages employee with the official title of, Communicator of Awesomeness. Hup oversees the team, lending us guidance. He's always there for us, despite the different time zones. I'm not certain, but I think he's probably answered our questions in the middle of the night and while in the shower.

Shirley Anderson (me) is the team lead, although there is not a lot of leading to do, considering the talented professionals that share the HubNuggeting experience with me. I'm sooo lucky to be able to work with these people while trying to contribute to the HubPages community!

B.T. Evilpants helped us make history by being the first HubNuggets Jackalope in the whole world. He's a loveable mixture of fun and evil. Luckily, his addiction to butter tarts has not (yet) interferred with his crafting a fabulous HubNugget hub, nor with his choosing great Wannabe's for the weekly contest. I don't know how it is that B.T. can be such a great writer - he has no thumbs to hold a pencil and he can't type. If I'm not mistaken, his friend, RMR helps out. That makes it tough to know who the real writer is - B.T. or RMR? Perhaps one of them will confess and let us know who it is that writes for freelance clients.

Patty Inglish, MS is the most prolific writer I know! Not only that but everything Patty writes is definitely HubNugget worthy! Relax, Patty's been here quite a while and does not qualify. She's a polished professional who hasn't forgotten how to have fun, which is why she is a wonderful addition to our HubNuggets team and a successful freelancer. Patty is also in business with B.T. Evilpants.....something to do with gravy, I think.

Ripplemaker is a sweet angel who flies from Wannabe to Wannabe in her HubMobile, reading, commenting and doing her civic hub duty by voting for her favourite. Ripplemaker is our loveable, talented cheerleader who always supports hubbers and the HubNuggets team. Go, Ripplemaker!

Zsuzsy Bee graciously agreed to join our ranks in November, 2009. As her name suggests, she moves from place to place, spreading sweetness and fun. Zsuzsy keeps very busy, offline as well with her writing career and she's not only Canadian, she's smart, too. She knows how to work out percentages.

RedElf is another hubber that we love and welcomed to the fold in November of '09. Her enthusiasm is inspiring and contagious. Like Zsuzsy Bee, RedElf is a fellow Canadian. I believe we Canucks are very close to having the majority vote. :) I wonder if there's ever been a HubNuggets coup?

1. A report is generated of all the new hubs by new hubbers (usually 2500-2800 per week)
2. HubNugget team members go through the list, looking for the best quality hubs
3. The HubNugget team narrows down the list to ten Wannabes
4. One of the team members constructs the hub and forum thread
5. HubNugget Wannabes are read and voted on by peers and others
6. Ryan Hupfer officially declares the top five winning HubNuggets
7. An announcement is made in the forum
8. Each of the winners receive a congratulatory email from a member of the HubNuggets team and appear in the newsletter for that week
   

Rinse and repeat each Wednesday.

Every week, Ryan Hupfer lets the team know the official list of top five winning HubNuggets.

The contest runs from Wednesday to Wednesday each week.

The newsletter shows up in your email inbox, usually on Wednesday afternoons.  Check the email address that you signed up with to get your HubPages account, it should be there.  You don't have to sign up for it, it is an automated mailing that goes out to all the registered hubbers.

If you are not receiving your newsletters, you may need to change your HubPages email address.  Occasionally, spam blockers won't let it through.

ABSOLUTELY! Blog it, Stumble it, Facebook it, Digg it, whatever you can think of to drive up your votes. And yes, you can vote for yourself. The HubNugget police won't come after you, I promise.

We had one instance where someone was going to help their goldfish vote for them.

It isn't just fellow hubbers that can vote, either. Everybody in the world is allowed to vote for your hub, so promote the bajeebers out of it! Tell your friends, family, co-workers, the guy behind the counter where you get your coffee, your mechanic, the teenager at the gas bar. Tell anybody and everybody to come and vote for your hub!

Yes. Read, read and read some more. Check out some of the winning HubNuggets hubs, as well as those of hubbers in good standing who have been around for some time. See what they're doing that you're not.

When you finish a hub and really feel pleased that it looks and reads great and you feel proud of it, chances are your hub has attained HubNugget worthiness.

If you have any questions about HubNuggets, you can ask any of the HubNugget team members. We'll help you in any way that we can.

Happy Hubbing!